Traps$$
Ovi-Catch AGO Mosquito Trap
The CDC-designed autocidal gravid ovitrap. Egg-laying mosquitoes check in; nobody checks out.
NYC + National
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> DIY · NYC + National
DIY Bucket Trap (Free Build Guide)
A five-gallon bucket, some hay, one Bti dunk. The legendary budget build — free guide, no purchase needed.
Best for: Anyone with a bucket, a corner of yard, and the DIY itch
Free guide — no purchase needed
Why it made the arsenal.
This is the bonus level. A 'bucket of doom' is the DIY version of the same gravid-trap theory behind the Ovi-Catch and BG-GAT: fill a dark bucket about halfway with water, add a handful of hay or grass clippings and let it steep for a day or two (that fermented smell is mosquito catnip), then drop in a Bti dunk. Egg-laying females flock to the most attractive nursery on the block — yours — and every larva that hatches dies in the water. Cost: nearly nothing. Effectiveness: legitimately good, and endorsed as a community tactic by extension entomologists. Build two, ask a neighbor to build one, and you've started your own pilot program.
The build guide.
1. Get a dark 5-gallon bucket
Dark colors read as 'safe, shady nursery' to a female mosquito. Any hardware-store bucket works. Fill it about halfway with plain water.
2. Add the bait
Toss in a big handful of hay, straw, or grass clippings and let it steep for 24–48 hours. The fermenting smell is irresistible to egg-laying mosquitoes. You are building a trap that out-competes every puddle on the block.
3. Arm it with Bti
Drop in a quarter of a Mosquito Dunk (or a scoop of Mosquito Bits). This is the kill mechanism: every larva that hatches dies before it can fly. NEVER skip this step — an untreated bucket is a mosquito farm, not a trap.
4. Optional: add a sticky band
Wrap the inside rim above the waterline with a strip of sticky trap paper to also catch the adult females that come to lay. Now it kills two generations at once.
5. Place it and forget it (mostly)
Shady spot, away from where you hang out, stable footing so kids and raccoons can't tip it. Check every 2–3 weeks: top up water, refresh the dunk monthly, re-bait as needed.
6. Recruit the block
One bucket helps. Five buckets on one block is a strategy. Share this guide with a neighbor — or better, get them into the pilot.
Need the Bti dunk for step 3? It's the one purchase in this build — Mosquito Dunks run about a dollar per month of protection.
+ Power-ups
- Costs a few dollars if you already own a bucket
- Same population-crushing theory as the commercial gravid traps
- A gateway drug to neighborhood-scale prevention
− Drawbacks
- You must keep the Bti dunk fresh — an untreated bucket is a mosquito farm
- Ugly. Gloriously, functionally ugly
- Needs a spot pets and kids won't tip
Complete the loadout.
Traps$$
Biogents BG-GAT Trap (2-Pack)
The pro-grade passive gravid Aedes trap from the lab-nerd company mosquito researchers actually use.
NYC + National
Traps$$$
Biogents Mosquitaire CO₂ Mosquito Trap
The plug-in, research-grade active trap. Runs all season on a scent lure — add a CO₂ bottle and it starts impersonating you.
NYC + National
Gear is level 2. Level 1 is free: the Prevention Playbook. And if you're in Bed-Stuy, the pilot will hand you a trap.